Ugh I just typed out everything just to have it disappear on me. Oh well. OKAY! So, I've been experimenting with making naturals this time around. I wasn't sure what kind of a dread I would get with different amounts of hair, so I sectioned it into about 16 pieces and did about 4 smaller naturals before deciding I don't like them that small. So I combined two sections together and came up with the 1 bigger natural.

The smaller ones look a bit better than the bigger one. I was fairly sure that I had really backcombed it well, palm rolled it but when I sealed it, it came out looking like it wants to fall apart. Is it normal for naturals sealed with boiling water to look that way? It looks like I need to backcomb even more. I'd been looking at and falling head over heels for hellsbells' naturals and so wanted a set that looked similar to some of hers, but hers look much sturdier (and prettier of course lol) than mine. Just wanted some input before I go too much further, seeing as I'm broke as f*ck right now and need to make the hair I've got last lol.

Naturals are not my forte unfortunately. But I think you are correct. They could do with some more backcombing. You have a nice start here, and they are a lovely thickness. I think they just need to be a bit sturdier. You could backcomb more and seal again, or you could try a crochet method. Either I think will help you with the look you are trying to achieve.